United States President, Joe Biden has nominated Kiran Ahuja (pictured) to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Agency former President, Donald Trump tried to abolish.
Ms Ahuja previously served as the OPM’s Chief of Staff from 2015 until 2017 and will be the first South Asian to lead the Federal Government’s human relations Agency.
After last year’s Presidential election, Ms Ahuja led Mr Biden’s transition team at the OPM.
If confirmed, she faces considerable challenges, particularly rebuilding an Agency and workforce that the Trump Administration sought to dismantle.
At the time, critics of Mr Trump’s plan accused him of trying to strip the Agency responsible for administering a non-partisan Public Service of its independence, and blasted proponents for their failure to produce key documents justifying the need for it.
Congress eventually blocked that effort on a bipartisan basis, instructing the Administration to halt its efforts until the National Academy of Public Administration could conduct a thorough study of the Agency’s challenges.
That study is slated for release in March.
Ms Ahuja will also need to reassure the Agency’s career workforce, which was battered by the merger plan, frequent shake-ups at the top and the placement of political appointees in positions that traditionally had been reserved for top career employees.
President of the not-for-profit Partnership for Public Service, Max Stier praised the nomination.
“Kiran Ahuja is a civic-minded leader and an outstanding choice for this important job,” Mr Stier said.
“Ahuja’s exceptional qualifications include more than two decades of non-profit leadership and public service, including at OPM and the White House, and a track record of solving human capital issues through innovation and collaboration,” he said.
Washington, 24 February 2021
